First Date
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day six hundred and thirty-five: Sam asked her out, and she thought it was a joke at first... it wasn't a joke.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 30th cycle. Now cycle 31!_

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><p><strong>Hear that little bird twitter!<strong> _Been thinking about doing this for a couple days, then this morning decided to just go for it. If you go there, find 'gleekathon' and there I'll be. There's also a video explaining everything... Yep... ;) Check it out!_

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><p><strong>"First Date"<br>Sam/Mercedes  
>Sequel to "First Look" <strong>

He'd probably started thinking about it, right there on the dance floor, but it never was something concrete until a few days later. They were all there, sitting in Glee Club, and something made her laugh. He never really figured out what it was that got her going. All he knew for sure was that when she burst out laughing, he just smiled… more than that, he grinned. There was this feeling in him like that sound was absolutely phenomenal, and he would do everything in his power to keep it coming. So that was how he had decided it: he was going to ask out Mercedes Jones.

He wasn't generally a shy guy, and it wasn't going to start now. But still after his most recent track record, and keeping in mind she knew his whole situation, this was all going to be played a different way. Especially if she got away before he could speak to her: when he'd looked up he realized that practice was over and people were either leaving or had already left… this last group including Mercedes.

He grabbed his bag and dashed out into the hall. After a quick look around he spotted her, walking with Tina. He tried to stay nearby but not too close, waiting until the path was open. Finally Tina headed off to rejoin Mike, and Mercedes was free. He let out a breath, ready to move forward and… Kurt slipped in before he could. Sam recovered, retreating again and resuming the waiting game. It would only get harder to stick around, the longer it took… But then as soon as Kurt had left, there was Rachel, and Sam just spun on his heel again, practically resting his head on a locker door.

"Are you okay?" He jumped at the sound of the voice, because it was hers.

"Mercedes," he turned to her, and she just chuckled. "What?" he smirked.

"You got locker head," she poked at the impression the door had left on his forehead.

"Oh…" he rubbed at it.

"Something on your mind?" she asked. He dropped his hand, looking at her… there they were.

"I've got something I wanted to ask you," he started and she nodded. "Would you like to… I mean, would you go out with me Friday?" She stared at him, wordless for a moment and she laughed… He'd liked the sound, but in this case… "What's…" he started, and she hesitated.

"You weren't… You're serious…" she stared.

"Very," he promised. "I had a really great time with you at prom, and I think you did, too," he smiled.

"I did," she returned it.

"So what if we see if we can do that again?"

"But… it was prom," she pointed out as she started walking and he followed her. "With dresses and all that, it was… impressionable."

"I think I can tell the difference," he told her and, sensing something, he went on. "What are you afraid of?" She slowed, looked to him.

"I haven't exactly… Done this a lot, and the times I did, it was… a train wreck. I had a great time at prom. It was the kind of memory you hang on to your whole life, and even that was unexpected. I don't… I don't want to ruin that, you know?"

"I actually do," he nodded. "But what I'm thinking is… It can't hurt to try, can it? Just once, and if you want to bail out I'll understand… But then maybe you won't bail out…" He could see her thinking. "Please?"

"Okay…" she finally said it, and once that was out she did smile, along with him. "But just in case, it stays between us."

"I can do that," he promised. "So… Friday?"

"Friday," she confirmed. He gave a bit of a bow/salute and walked off, leaving him with the biggest smile on her face, one he would see repeatedly over the rest of the week, the closer they got to their date.

On the day, he didn't dress too special. He'd thought about it but, in the spirit of keeping this 'in between them,' he had suggested casual wear, and she agreed. At least with that off his mind he could think of what they could do on this date. He remembered the general idea, to keep it simple, but he didn't want that to mean not trying. So while he went with a start of going to a movie, he thought of what they could do after.

They met up at the theater, or at least close to it, which was a good thing… it gave them time to stop themselves smirking, as much as they were trying to hide it even from one another. "What's so funny?" she asked him.

"I could ask you the same thing," he pointed out, which only got her going even more.

"I don't know, I guess I'm just glad you convinced me." He gave her a look, and she shook her head though she was still smiling. "Stop."

"Hey, I'm glad I convinced you, too," he insisted, which put her at ease. There was a moment of silence, only broken by the leftover laughter escaping them every so often. "I know we're supposed to be just trying here, keeping it quiet, but… while we're in there, if I want to take your hand…" he asked, and she looked at him. He wasn't sure, but he thought she might be blushing. "What's the protocol there?"

"I'm going to trust you on that one," she told him, just as good as a yes.

"Okay, good," he nodded. They reached the theater and after getting their tickets and getting popcorn and the likes, they found seats in the semi-lit room, waiting on the movie to start. He could see her taking looks left and right every so often, and after a while he put his hand on her arm, drawing her attention back. "We are in Glee Club together," was all he needed to say for her to understand 'relax, no one's staring.' "Why are you so worried anyway?" he asked.

"I'm not… Not like that," she promised, like she thought he might have been offended. "I guess I just don't want anything going wrong here," she admitted.

"It won't. I won't let it," he told her. "So just relax, okay?"

"Right. No, you're right. I'm sorry," she looked back at him.

"Don't need to apologize," he told her, just as the lights dimmed. As the first of the coming attractions came up on screen, he felt her hand on his, and he smirked, turning his hand over so it was palm to palm with hers, fingers closing on both sides.

After that, both of them stopped concerning themselves on who might or might not see them, or on anything that could get in the way, and they focused on the movie, never letting go… It was a hold that had opened their eyes before, and it still packed as much feeling now as it did before. They let go just as the credits rolled, before the lights came on and they got up.

"Did I hear sniffling?" Sam asked her as they got out the doors.

"What do you think?" she asked, staring back at him.

"Nope, not a thing," he shook his head innocently. She smirked, seeing he'd caught the message – you heard nothing.

"So what now?" she asked.

"Well that depends…" he started, and she looked at him as though to say 'on what?' "Did I pass the test drive date?"

"Still not at liberty to say," she started, playing serious, but then she smiled. "But just between you and me, you're heading in the right direction."

"Good," he was smiling, and he directed her up the street. "Well then let's go."

"Go where?" she had to ask. As they turned the corner, they were already nearing the park, with plenty of open space, all the better for them to sit somewhere…

"I didn't want to do the same old thing, and maybe it'll be lame but…" he gestured up toward the sky, and she turned her eyes up. "… don't need to over complicate things, do we? We've got the stars over us, and I've got you next to me…" he looked back to her. She had to hand it to him, he knew how to get her smiling… a lot. She bowed her head before looking up to the night sky the way he did.

"Alright… alright… You pass."

THE END

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><p><strong>AN: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
><strong>**In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
><strong>******always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!******


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